Does He Care After All?
by Dolphin02
Summary: Leaf's the Kanto Champion now, and Gary's persistent as ever. When Dragonite, an old Sinnoh friend, visits Leaf, she get's in a...bit of an accident. Gary's the only one there to help her. Will Gary help her? Does the arrogant boy have actual feelings for her? Does he actually care?


**AN: This is kinda short, but I'm working on a series of one-shots right now, so it's kinda a filler. :P**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, canon characters, or anything of the sort. Thank you. *bows***

* * *

 **Ring! Ring!**

Leaf groaned.

Seriously? Again? How many times was Gary gonna call her? It was so dumb! She was pretty sure he had already hacked into her phone and was tracking her already! Did he need to call so often? Just because she was the Kanto Champion now did not mean that Gary had the right to call her every single moment of the day!

She sniffled in the cold November wind as she ventured her right hand out of her snuggly mittens and reached into her pocket to find her phone.

Serena.

 _Oops, guess it wasn't Gary after all._

Leaf clicked the answer button and waited for the call to connect.

"Leaf! Thank God I got to you! I was about to panic!" Serena's very panicked voice drifted through the speaker.

"Oh great. What happened now, Rena?" Leaf asked curiously. Serena did get herself into the most interesting problems. But then again...some of her problems...weren't really problems.

"Calem says the boys are having a boys' night! But Drew, Ash, Clemont and Jimmy are all in Kalos! Brock, and Kenny are in Kanto, and somehow, Paul is in Unova? Gary and Calem are in Sinnoh, with me and you! Aaron, Ritchie, and Cilan are in Hoenn. How in Mew are they gonna have a boys' night?" Serena rambled through the speaker.

 _Wow. The boys really are everywhere nowadays._

Yup. Leaf was right. It wasn't a real problem.

"Rena. Calm down. Why do you give a crap if the boys get together? I'd say it's about time. The 'famous friend group'...I'll never get over that title. Ha, famous friend group. Just because we're all known trainers, stylists, and coordinators, doesn't mean we're famous!" Leaf said sarcastically.

"Actually Leaf...it kinda does," Serena muttered.

"Anyways, we all got together in July, at Marina's movie premiere, remember? The Girl Who Disappeared. She did wonderful, though I thought the plot was a little dumb. Like seriously? But it sure made her a lot of money! They kinda deserve to get a little, 'boy time', don'tcha think? Us girls got together in May's Hoenn house in October," Leaf said back.

"I guess. But if they're flying out, I won't see Calem for days!" Leaf could almost hear Serena's pout as she said this.

"Hey, at least you guys can video chat. I'm stuck with stalker Gary! I get that he's obsessed with me because I'm quote, hard to get, unquote, but still, you would think a player like him would have moved on by now," Leaf tried to comfort Serena, but failed miserably.

"You think _that's_ it!? Wow...you're dense Leaf," Serena giggled over the phone. "You think Gary's obsession is because your the only girl that ever says no to him? No!" Serena laughed loudly and neatly.

"Then what?" Leaf demanded angrily, clearly frustrated.

"You'll have to figure it out on your own. I just got a text from him on my _other_ phone. He's almost there. Ca va? Au revoir!" and with that, the line clicked, dead.

"Dammit Serena! Why do you have to be so cryptic? And she reverted back to French! Somethings up. I'm supposed to meet her in Twinleaf, then Cynthia in Celestic," Leaf muttered to Ivysaur, who was shivering, but padding along next to her on the forest path.

"Ivysaur?" Ivysaur cocked his head curiously, and slid out one vine to test the fall temperatures. "Ivy!" Ivysaur quickly retracted the vine, shivering harder now.

"Alright, come on boy, back into your Pokeball," Leaf laughed, and called Ivysaur back in.

"So Leafy, are you expecting me? Serena told me that she told you, that I told her to tell you, that I would be here," an arrogant, rough voice said behind Leaf.

She tensed, twirled around, and flung her hair behind her shoulder.

"What do you want, Gary?" Leaf sneered, her arms coming in front of her in a defensive pose.

Gary stood smugly in the middle of the road, his hair were in their usual spikes and his eyes gleamed. "Nothing much Leafy. Nothing much. So can I take you out to dinner when we get to Twinleaf?"

Leaf didn't even flinch. "Go screw yourself."

Gary pouted and started sauntering towards Leaf. "Oh Leafy! That's no way to behave! It's just dinner!"

Leaf simply twirled back around and started walking towards Twinleaf again. Damn Serena. Leaf was gonna kill her.

Thump. THUMP.

Leaf tensed and froze. The ground pounded with some unseen, sound wave. "Do you hear anything Gary?"

"Why would I hear anything other than your beautiful voice Leafy?" Gary snorts.

"This isn't the time for flattery!" Leaf snapped angrily. Leaf's eyes darted around and took in the pounding sound from behind them.

"The fucking ground is shaking for Arceus's sake! Get a move on! Come on!"

Leaf started sprinting towards Twinleaf, turning her head to check if Gary was following and what the thing was.

Gary, of course followed her. And then she saw the large shadow.

"Climb, you jackass! It's fucking big! Climb!" Leaf shoved Gary up a large oak tree ahead. She climbed swiftly behind him.

The thumping continued behind them, motivating them.

A branch cracked loudly as it snapped under Gary's weight. "Keep climbing!" Leaf snapped, shoving him up again.

When at last they reached a height Leaf deemed high enough, they stopped.

Both of them laid panting on a particularly thick branch.

Thump. Thump.

Suddenly, a large shadow blocked out the sun. A gentle purr emitted from the bulky figure.

Leaf had wanted to shriek, but held back the urge. She turned her head slowly, staring up at the large face.

"Dragonite!" Leaf's voice was full of surprise and happiness. "Oh my! Arceus! Thank Mew it's you! I haven't seen you in months! Where have you been, my beautiful friend? Hmm?"

She reached out to touch the top of his head.

"Dragon! Dragonite!" Dragonite nuzzled her hand eagerly, conversing back.

Everything was perfect for one moment, but then, it all went wrong.

Leaf lost her balance and fell straight down. Down to the ground thirty feet away.

Dragonite obviously tried to catch her, but he failed, only resulting in bruising her back.

With a sickening thunk, Leaf hit the forest floor, landing hard on a broken piece of wood. The earthy smell surrounded her as her vision was blocked with Dragonite helping Gary down.

Her neck, back, and shoulders ached, white-hot pain shot up her arm as Leaf tried to sit up. The canopy above her blurred with spots of light, making everything a hazy green. Her body was on fire, everything stung, and even the tiniest little movement resulted in sharp pain.

"Ugh…oww...my head..." Leaf moaned.

Leaf saw Gary leaning down, his face close to hers and panicked. "Fuck Leaf! Are you dead!? I need to get you to a hospital! Dragonite! Can you help? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Oh Arceus! Fuck! I'm a dumbass! I think I killed her...Mew...Oh Arceus."

The darkness started creeping in, covering Gary's face and the forest around her. "Hurts…" Leaf muttered before fading into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Oh my Arceus! You're a bastard! Dumbass! You could have killed her! She fell over ten feet! That's like as tall as your house! That high! Just because you were jealous of Dragonite does not give you a reason for knocking Leaf out of a tree! She fell on her back too! Studies show that she could've DIED!" Serena's shrill, angry voice scolded Gary, who already looked thoroughly scolded.

"Rena…?" Leaf groaned as she tried to sit up.

Serena's large blue eyes peered over at her, her voice suddenly silent. "Leaf? You're awake?" She turned to Gary.

"Call Nurse Joy!" she snapped, seemingly satisfied as Gary cowered before running off to find Nurse Joy, sending Leaf a worried look.

"I fell...over ten feet?" Leaf grimaced as she tried to sit up. Her back protested wildly and everything ached.

"Yeah. You gave me a huge scare, when Gary came in crying with you all limp in his arms. Goodness," Serena sighed heavily. "He went and cried for hours. Then when you were stabilized, I went and called him in, giving him the speech you partly heard."

"How long was I out?" Leaf said, rubbing her temples. "Seventeen hours," Serena answered grimly.

A throbbing pain pounded behind her eyes. "Ouch...have a migraine…"

"Oh, that's normal!" Nurse Joy's airy voice drifted towards the two girls. "Leaf, you should be very sore, and very much in pain. I'd suggest taking physical exertion to a minimum for the next three weeks."

"What!? But I promised I'd meet Cynthia at Celestic!" Leaf protested, her green eyes wide with disbelief.

"I called her. Apparently the phone call was broadcasted over live radio because Nurse Joy calling off a legendary meeting between the Sinnoan and Kantian Champions was broadcast worthy! Sheesh," Nurse Joy looked fully flustered as she checked all of the equipment hanging around Leaf.

"So...what's gonna happen?" Leaf asked impatiently.

"Oh, she's coming here. She's on her way with Garchomp." Nurse Joy waved carelessly. "You'll meet here in a couple days. For now, you get to be stuck here. I'm sure Serena and that young man will keep you company!"

Leaf huffed. "Oh, I'm sure Gary'll keep me company…" she grumbled.

"Leaf! Be nice!" Serena scolded her in the same tone she used for Gary.

"What? It's the truth," Leaf snapped grumpily, pinching the bridge of her nose irritably.

"Why don't you list all of your past injuries for me Ms. Green?" Nurse Joy asked politely, holding her clipboard and pen tightly.

"Oh. There was the broken femur when I was three. It cracked in three places and hurt like crap. There was the concussion when I was five, I had hit my head on the soccer goal. Three broken toes and a broken arm when I was six, fell off the roof of my house. Pulled my left hamstring when I was seven playing rugby, and got three concussions too. I dislocated my left knee and sprained my right hand playing soccer...Do you want me to go on?" Leaf listed blankly.

"Uh...no Ms. Green. That's good for now," Nurse Joy smiled at Leaf. She checked the equipment one last time before she walked out of the room to tend to Pokemon and other people.

"How're you feeling now?" Serena asked, sitting down.

"Okay," Leaf lounged back on the hospital bed, stretching her arms. Then she caught a flash of brown hair as Gary slipped into the room with a bowl of soup and a bottle of water.

"Here," he offered, walking slowly towards Leaf, and Serena. Leaf stared at him warily before taking a hold of the plastic bowl of soup and the metal spoon sitting in it.

Leaf stared incredulously at the soup. Gary would bring her food?

Guess Gary took the look the wrong way. "Should I feed you?" Gary said, his arrogance coming back.

Leaf glared daggers at him. "I heard _you're_ the reason I fell out of the tree. You thought it'd be funny if you nudged me closer to Dragonite, and pushed too hard. So you should stop acting so high-and-mighty and actually come down to earth and apologize!"

Gary had the decency to look guilty. "Um...I'm sorry I'm a jealous ass." Gary said hesitantly, his voice higher in pitch at the end of the sentence, almost asking a question.

"Yes, you are. And you need to stop this fake facade thing, Gary, go find a bimbo who actually wants to be with a man-whore. Yes, you. Don't look at me like you haven't heard this all before. I know you don't have real feelings for me. Just the thrill of another chase. Another girl playing hard-to-get. But you need to stop. I don't like the arrogant ladies' man you are. Okay? Okay."

Leaf took a deep breath as she finished her rant. In, out. In, out.

Why was she even this frustrated and mad? Oh right.

How would you feel if you had a massive crush on a boy since you were little? And then he turns out to be a player who found a new girlfriend every week. Then he realized that his childhood best friend is a girl, and somehow came to the conclusion that he wanted to date her.

And she didn't want to date him. Not when he would just throw her away, a week later.

No, Leaf was an independent, strong girl. She was not going to give in to Gary simply because of an old crush. No, she wasn't.

"Didn't know you cared so much," Gary said almost sadly.

Serena's bright, blue eyes darted between the both of them. "I'll….just leave to give you two some privacy. Don't...uh...hurt Leaf, Gary."

Leaf scoffed. "He can't hurt me anymore than he already has."

"I don't think she meant physically," Gary replied, shaking his head.

"You can't hurt me mentally either. I'm immune to you now," Leaf snorted as Serena backed out of the room.

"Really?" Gary stepped closer, dark brown eyes glinting with mischief.

"Yeah," Leaf said uncomfortably, inching backwards on the hospital bed. "Why wouldn't I be immune?"

"Well…" Gary cocked an eyebrow, stepping even closer, knees pressing up against the metal frame of the bed. "You could actually have feelings for me. Like I have feelings for you, Leaf." He leaned in, his minty breath washing over her.

"Are you kidding me?" Leaf burst out, shoving him backwards, causing Gary to stumble. "Liar! If you had feelings for me, you wouldn't treat me like all of your other girlfriends! You wouldn't act like your best friend is just someone else you like! You'll just throw me away like all of the other girls you have an 'interest' in! You don't even like any of them, they're just for entertainment, and you enjoy it! So don't try that on me! I'm not like all of the other girls who fall for your tricks! I'm smart! I see your lies!"

"I see the intricate web you weave around them, then give a light shove for them to fall into! I see how cruel and careless you treat them. I feel bad for those girls because they'll never get your affection and that crushes most of them! Some of them are sluts and horrible people, but there are also those who are kind, and nice! They're helpless rabbits that you, the mountain lion prey on! So stop it! It's not nice, you hurt people, and it's downright cruel! I've sat by long enough with you trying to make me jealous, but I don't care about that! I just care that you're trying to hurt innocent people! And even then, don't even have feelings for me! It's just another excuse to date around! And you just want me because I'm not like the other easy girls you date. So STOP. IT," Leaf jabbed a finger at his chest, gingerly standing up to glare defiantly at him.

"And I _know_ you don't care about me! You just think that I'm another conquest! Another girl to add to your list! I'm the same as those girls, you'll treat me the same as them, and it'll all be the same result! I used to be your best friend! But no, none of that matters, because your former best friend is pretty, the Champion of Kanto, and plays hard to get. Well guess what? She's in high demand. She doesn't need another sucker who doesn't even care about her to date her. And even if I cared for you, I wouldn't do anything! Because I'm smart, and I'm not falling for your web of lies! You think I'm playing 'hard to get', but I'm not! I don't like you Gary Oak! Okay? So stop it!"

Leaf was breathing hard after her speech, her green eyes wide with barely suppressed anger, hands curled in fists and hair practically crackling with static.

Gary's brown eyes were wide as saucers, mouth hanging open in shock. He slowly closed his mouth and swallowed hard. "Uh...but Leaf. What you said was right. I don't care about the other girls, and I knew it was wrong, I just had to get your attention. I really _do_ care about you,"

Leaf snorted at that.

"-and seriously! I do! It's just...I don't know how to express it, okay Leaf?" Gary started walking closer again. "I care about you, I started noticing that hanging out with you wasn't leaving me empty like all those girlfriends did. And then I started being attracted to you…" Gary trailed off, his cheeks bright red with embarrassment.

Leaf was speechless. Gary had actual feelings for her? No, it couldn't be. Gary was...Gary! He was a player. He knew how to make you fall for him. It's just what he does! It couldn't be right. Gary Oak did not have feelings for her. No way.

"I do really like you Leaf! I like your green eyes that hardens into steel when you're mad. And your long brown hair that never seems to tangle. And your pale, pale skin that remains milky no matter what. I like your fiery personality, and your intelligence. Your stubbornness and your loyalty. I just…" Gary ran a hand through his hair, clearly flustered, "I just really like you Leaf! Believe me! Please?! I've never complimented my past girlfriends. They were all for show! And I know it's wrong! But...you're not like them. And you're Leaf Green. How can you not fall in love with her?" Gary whispered.

He was really close now, only a few centimeters from Leaf, his hot breath intermingling with Leaf's.

"You're in love with me?" Leaf's voice betrayed her as the hope is evident in it.

"Yeah," Gary whispered, leaning in. "I think I'm in love with you, Leaf Green."

Then he closed the gap, and kissed her.

It was the fireworks, and everything you have ever read about it. It was just as if, the crack in this horrible world suddenly closed, and the world was just _right_ for a moment.

A shriek interrupted them.

" _I KNEW YOU LIKED EACH OTHER!"_ Serena's squeal shattered the windows.

Leaf stared up at Gary, cheeks flushed and mouth open, panting. "Really? You love me?"

"Yes," Gary said strongly back, sure. "I love you."

"I've loved you since I was fourteen," Leaf's voice was shy. With Serena still ranting in the background, Gary tipped Leaf's chin up, and kissed her again. It probably wouldn't be the last.

* * *

 **AN: I know this is kinda short, but hopefully the content was okay and satisfies you Oldrival/Leafgreen shippers out there. :)**

 **-Ang**


End file.
